TWO men have gone on trial at Cardiff Crown Court accused of falsely imprisoning Barry rooftop protester Ricky Canty and causing him actual bodily harm.

57-year-old Ernest Wray and 56-year-old George Beatty, both property developers from Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, deny the charges, brought after Mr Canty claimed he was forcibly removed from the top of his former home in Raldan Close, Barry, on October 13 last year.

The men claim they did not know Mr Canty had been camped for months on top of the property, which they bought at auction following Mr Canty’s eviction, the court heard.

Prosecutor David Elias alleged the pair had arranged for the former car salesman to be removed from the roof, after police officers told them there had been a change in plan about them assisting in Mr Canty’s safe removal on this date.

Mr Elias told the jury Mr Canty was in his shelter when he heard strange noises, adding: “The defendants decided to take the law into their own hands.

“He was in his shelter which was secured through the roof to the beams at about 7pm on October 13 last year, when he heard slates being removed from the inside and saw hands coming up through the roof.”

Mr Canty said his life had been saved by the message boards attached to the roof’s edge, and that two men, who he was unable to identify, kicked and punched him and pushed him through the hole into the attic before he was dragged through the bedroom ceiling, beaten, trussed up with cable ties and rope and detained until police arrived.

He was then taken in an ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where he was treated for facial injuries and bruising.

Proceeding